Ann Aubrey Hanson

Ghostwriting

Professional • Medical • Academic • Non-Fiction

A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write texts that are officially credited to someone else. Ghostwriting requires a strong sense of self, and a willingness to subsume that self to the needs of others. You didn’t truly believe that the recently released book was written by that athlete or that personality about town, now did you?

Ghostwriters help provide a voice to those who might otherwise remain mute. I have written books for business professionals, medical professionals, a bioethicist, and a Hungarian immigrant, though I eschew academic ghostwriting, believing that all academics should earn their own accolades. As a ghostwriter, I attempt to write in the voice of the one whose story I tell, a feat I achieve by spending time with my clients in conversation, getting to know their rhythms of speech and their perspectives on life and the topic at hand. My years as a journalist are a great asset when it comes to interviewing for information and knowledge.

I also ghostwrite articles for professionals who wish to publish their own articles but need the guidance and expertise of a professional writer.

While I would like to list my ghostwriting publications, that would be telling, wouldn’t it? Suffice it to say, several books and numerous articles have appeared in print without my name on the cover, though I am often given credit in the acknowledgements. It’s a game of find-and-seek.